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Friday, December 21, 2018

As I write the last blog for 2018, I’m
amazed yet again how fast the year flew by.Aside from all of the traveling we do over Christmas Day and Boxing Day
and the inevitable family drama such as an under-cooked turkey, melted ice cream
or relatives arriving late for dinner, I love the Christmas Season.I love coming up with a theme for our family
Christmas card, I love decorating and baking, but most of all I LOVE the
arrival of Elfie (our elf on the shelf). Our main floor looks like Santa’s elves have attacked
with trinkets, decorations, candles, plants and greenery covering every surface
and corner.Each year I OBSESS over my
gift wrapping theme – paper, ribbons and gift tags.I may even go so far to organize the theme of
the wrapping by house and/or family...Like I said, I’m obsessed.

As we wrap up 2018, I love looking back
over the blogs that have been shared.They paint a story of what has transpired throughout the year from emerging
pathogens and new trends to areas we had not considered and are now becoming an
infection prevention concern.They also highlight
the breadth of interest you, the readers have in the topics I’m sharing.As you
can see from the top 10 Talk Clean To Me
blogs for 2018 the topics are pretty varied!

1.Pools
Poised for Plagues- discussed a
MMWR Report showing that nearly one-third of disease outbreaks caused by
chlorinated or treated water can be linked to hotel pools and hot tubs.

2.Infection
Control for Basic Beauty – summarizing my experience at one of the largest
Professional Beauty Trade Shows and the difference between Canada and the USA
in terms of the level of cleaning and disinfection required for tools and
implements.

3.Rub My Feet- did not lead to anyone offering a foot
rub, but did talk about the potential for UV-C devices to reduce the bioburden
on the soles of our shoes.

4.Let the
Sun Shine In– summarized a study that showed bacteria levels in dust in
dark rooms was higher than in those exposed to sunlight.

6.Under
the Weather?Under Productive! –
discussed how influenza is associated with greater workplace productivity loss
(sick days and presenteeism) than any other acute respiratory illnesses.

7.Colon
Infection Control – may have you rethinking getting a colonic after an
investigation showing that the cleaning agents being used would have been
completely inadequate to eliminate hepatitis C, hepatitis B, or HIV should they
be present on the instruments used to perform the colonics.

I’m not exactly sure what 2019 is going to
bring, but I look forward to finding more interesting and fun topics to blog
about and hope you’ll continue reading! Until next year, wishing you every
happiness this holiday season and throughout the coming year!

Friday, December 14, 2018

If you’re like many people, as we sprint
towards the end of the year, you’re contemplating what 2019 holds in
store.Whether you’re dreaming of a New
Year and a new start, or screaming and stomping your feet hoping the year will
not end, coming up with a New Year’s resolution is a tradition that many of us
share.Year after year, the top
resolutions are pretty consistent: exercise and get in better shape, eat
healthier, lose some weight and focus on self-care, be it personal, emotional
or educational.The catch 22 is that all
are equally good and bad for your health.If you’re shaking your head in disbelief let me prove it to you!

Exercise is certainly something often
prescribed to improve our health.It
improves oxygen flow to the brain which makes you feel better
because your brain and body can do more. It
improves your heart rate and lowers your blood pressure which decreases
your risk for a number of diseases and gives you more energy.But, did you know thata study
by Northwestern University found more than 7000 colonies of different types
of bacteria in dust samples from 42 different athletic facilities in Oregon,
including private fitness clubs, public recreation centres and studios for
dance, yoga and martial arts.The scary
part was that 30% of the samples contained antibiotic resistant bacteria.I’m not sure about you, but hitting the gym
is not going to be at the top of my list of New Year’s resolutions!

Eating healthier and losing weight is often
at the top of my list.I’m not getting
any younger and certainly am finding that I can’t get away with cheat eating
the way I used to!Salads are of course
an excellent way to eat healthy and still feel that you’re getting a variety as
you can change out the toppings and protein to make something different every
day.Unless you’ve been living under a
rock, I’m sure you’re more than aware of the multiple
outbreaks associated with E. coli
contaminated romaine lettuce.There
are 2 ways to look at this issue.You
can throw up your hands and declare that it’s a sign not to eat healthy because
the very food that is good for you can make you sick… or continue to eat
romaine lettuce because not only are you eating healthy, but a bout of diarrhea
or vomiting whether it’s linked to E.
coli, Salmonellaor Norovirus
can be a quick (albeit unhealthy and potentially deadly) way to lose
weight.

You’re probably wondering how self-care can
have a downside.People have many
different ideas of what self-care can be.If you’re aging and feeling self-conscious of your appearance,
particularly if you’re surrounded by millennials, you may be checking out the
latest fads like cool sculpting, anti-aging facials or if you’re follicly challenged, there’s
procedures that improve your receding hair line.You may be chuckling, but if you’re treating
yourself to some work on your hair line, you had best do your research, because
a hair
transplant facility not too far from my neck of the woods has been cited
for breaches in infection prevention and control such as not following best
practice standards for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of medical
equipment.

Another downside of self-care is wanting to
improve yourself via education.You
don’t need to go back to school to be educated.Reading is a great way to educate and/or improve yourself.The downside being, the more you read, the
more you learn and if you’re like me, reading about the latest outbreak, the
newest emerging pathogen or how chemicals can impact the health of people,
animals and the planet, you may just end
up in the bubble that I spoke of last week! If you can come up with a New Year’s
resolution that can’t be negatively impacted by lapses in infection prevention
please let me know!